A Swiss Army knife of integration
I joined Solita ten months ago as an Integration Lead in the Connectivity department in Sweden, a somewhat unique role. In a sense, I’m a kind of Swiss Army knife when it comes to integration. I do everything except development.
My background is in technical project management, and later I worked as a platform owner and product owner for an integration platform. Over time, that naturally led me towards solution architecture on the integration side, while still staying close to product management and team leadership.
I’ve worked with test leadership, solution architecture and product management. Basically everything you encounter in an integration project, except actually writing the code.
Seeing the whole business
One of the main reasons I’ve always been drawn to integration work is the perspective it gives you into a company’s business.
When you work with integration, you’re right between different systems. That means you get involved in all kinds of use cases: from orders and invoices to supply chains, financial records and master data. You really get to see almost every corner of a company’s operations and interact with many different departments.
For me, that breadth is one of the most inspiring parts of the job. You learn a lot and naturally become something of a generalist.
From daily meetings to customer impact
Like for most consultants, my days don’t really follow one strict template, but they have a certain rhythm. Mornings usually start with recurring project meetings and stand-ups. At the moment, I’m involved in three different customer deliveries and lead two to three meetings every morning. After that, there are typically customer meetings until noon, and in the afternoons, I try to get focused work done.
The impact of consulting work isn’t always immediately visible, but I do see clear value in what we help our customers achieve. A lot of what we do is about enabling access to data and automating workflows.
With AI becoming such a game-changer, access to data is crucial, whether it’s for AI agents or other types of automation. Beyond that, we help customers digitalise processes and make everyday work more efficient.
One example is a project with a Swedish commercial real estate company. They own and lease out office buildings, where each property receives a large number of invoices for things like cleaning, maintenance and supplies.
Managing all of this manually was challenging, so Solita supported them by integrating a new accounts payable automation system with their existing financial systems. The result was a smoother flow and a more efficient invoice handling process.
Learning, growth and solving the right problem
One of the things that’s positively surprised me at Solita is how much emphasis there is on learning and development. Customer work naturally comes first, but when there’s time, you’re encouraged to invest in your own growth – whether that’s through certifications, exploring new technologies or deepening your expertise through practical assignments.
A big part of my role is also about understanding customer challenges on a deeper level. Customers often present a problem, but that isn’t always the real issue that needs solving. I spend a lot of time helping customers clarify what the actual challenge is and guiding them towards the right solution. Being able to combine technical understanding with problem-solving and communication is something I see as essential in my role.
More generally, I think curiosity and a genuine interest in building things and solving puzzles are key traits for succeeding here, not only for developers, but for tech consultants overall.
A diverse and easy-going culture
One of the reasons I was excited to join Solita was the diversity of the company. It’s something I noticed early on and something I really value. Working with people from different backgrounds, nationalities and experiences brings different perspectives into problem-solving and often leads to better solutions.
Even though I work mostly remotely, there’s a strong sense of community. There’s always something happening in Slack: social clubs, shared interests, and knowledge exchange, to name a few. When you visit the office, you really feel that people enjoy working together.
Solitans are encouraged to have a life outside of work. I’ve always enjoyed staying active through running and skiing, although life looks a bit different at the moment. My wife and I recently had a daughter, so exercise has taken a bit of a back seat lately. A change of priorities I’m more than happy to embrace.
Are you interested in working at Solita? See our open positions!